A circus arena with an empty, brightly lit ring sets the scene for a composition of striking contrasts. A large tuskless elephant is standing on the borderline between light and shadow. He is facing a gesticulating group of men in oriental dress conferring with each other in the shadow on the left. One of them is presenting the animal with an open book, perhaps a legal text. Goya may be alluding to the infamous Manifesto of the Persians signed by 69 reactionary deputies in 1814 to encourage the newly reinstated King Ferdinand VII to restore absolutism and revoke the constitution. us, the tame elephant could stand for the Spanish people about to be deprived of their rights.
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